2. What is digital preservation?
“The process of maintaining…
materials produced in digital
formats, including… the continued
ability to render or display the
content…
“Also refers to the practice of
digitizing materials… to prevent
permanent loss due to deterioration
of the physical medium.”
Reitz, Joan M. “Digital Preservation.” Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science.
http://www.abc-clio.com/ODLIS/odlis_D.aspx?#digitalpreservation (accessed March 3, 2011).
3. What is digital preservation?
“The process of maintaining…
materials produced in digital
formats, including… the continued
ability to render or display the
content…
“Also refers to the practice of
digitizing materials… to prevent
permanent loss due to deterioration
of the physical medium.”
Reitz, Joan M. “Digital Preservation.” Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science.
http://www.abc-clio.com/ODLIS/odlis_D.aspx?#digitalpreservation (accessed March 3, 2011).
4. Why Digital Preservation?
Digitization
Easier Access & Sharing
Can save space & resources
Preservation of “born digital” materials
Dependent on digital system to access
Fragile, require active maintenance
5. History: 1970s
1971—Electronic Arts Intermix founded, promotes
preservation of sound & video recordings
1972—Valley Visions & Voices: A Digital Memory
Project for West Central Indiana
1974—Columbia's Preservation Division, one of the
oldest library preservation programs in the U.S.
1974—Research Libraries Group collaborates on
projects that bring print collections online
6. History: 1980s
1980—United Nations votes to preserve film &
television recordings of cultural & historical importance
1986—LOC becomes headquarters for the
International Federation of Library Associations'
Preservation & Conservation
1989—Carolyn Clark Morrow works on optical
character recognition, microfilm-to-digital & digital-to-
microfilm conversion, display technologies, and search
retrieval
7. History: 1990s
1991—Yale starts Project Open Book, effort to convert
10,000 volumes in microfilm into digital form
1992—University Libraries' Digital Preservation Project
launched to test improved features of digital technology
as a preservation option for archives
1994—Digital Preservation Consortium is formed
1998—The DMCA updates library & archival
preservation rules, permits digital preservation
8. History: 2000s
2000—National Digital Information Infrastructure &
Preservation Program (NDIIPP) released a plan that
outlines efforts & challenges to digital preservation
2002—Congress approves NDIIPP
2004—NDIIPP announces first formal partners to begin
building a digital preservation network
2010—National Digital Stewardship Alliance
(NDSA )launched to extend work of NDIIPP to more
9. Current Issues
Cost of digital preservation projects
Legalities of dissemination of copyrighted materials
Proving authenticity of easily-modified digital materials
Maintenance
Will older files be accessible on new software?
How long will storage mediums last?
16. Planning for the Future
Ensure operability of new with old
Disaster preparedness
17. Digital Preservation Groups
Council on Library and Information Resources/Digital
Library Federation
Digital Preservation Coalition (UK)
Digital Preservation Europe
National Digital Information Infrastructure and
Preservation Program: A Collaborative Initiative of the
Library of Congress
18. Other Resources
Changing Trains at Preserving the Past to
Wigan Protect the Future:
Strategic plan of NARA
D-Lib Magazine
Thirteen Ways of Ensuring the Longevity of
Looking at… Digital Digital Information
Preservation Cultural Heritage Search
Engine
Internet Archives
19. Questions
Are the current trends in digital preservation sufficient
to preserve what we have now, or will we need to
expand in other directions in the future?
Where do you think preservation will be in 20 or 50
years? Will this era become the digital dark ages?
For what is digital preservation enough, and what
materials warrant physical preservation as well?
